Visit HelpDesk leads to blank page

Frappe Helpdesk
1

I have just installed ERPNext and HelpDesk and when I go to the HelpDesk page in ERPNext and click on the big link at the top that says, “Visit HelpDesk,” it takes me to a blank page.

Here’s what I did, please give me some advice or point me at a resource that will help my understand what’s going on:

Fresh Docker install of ERPNext, followed by the procedure I outline below to install HelpDesk.

From frappe-bench directory, I run the following commands:

bench get-app helpdesk --branch main --resolve-deps
bench --site frontend install-app helpdesk --force
bench migrate

At this point, the backend shows up but none of the pages seem to exist, and when I click “Visit HelpDesk” I get a cute graphic 404 error. So I run the following:

bench --site frontend clear-cache
bench --site frontend clear-website-cache
bench --site frontend migrate

At this point, the backend works fine, but when I click through on “Visit HelpDesk” I get the blank page. What am I missing?

2

It’s probably a version issue, i got a similar issue which I have resolved by migrating instance to a new version of 15.

Did you migrate your instance?

3

I am new to Frappe, so will be specific about what I’ve done as well as providing the current versions of the apps I have installed. I believe that I have migrated, but let’s see if you agree:

After a fresh install of ERPNext version-15, I installed HelpDesk as described above, including running bench migrate after the install, and then bench --site frontend migrate after clearing the cache.

My current ERPNext implementation About shows the following:

Installed Apps

ERPNext: v15.43.3
Frappe Framework: v15.48.0
Helpdesk: v1.0.0 (main)

4

So following on this, I restarted the app-frontend-1, and then the app-backend-1 containers, and received the same blank page.

I then restarted the server to see if that would make a difference and in coming back up, nothing seems to be working - all I get when I go to the URL is “Internal Server Error”.

So let me ask this - I am happy to start fresh OR to diagnose what is going on here, but my current understanding of how to get apps up and running is insufficient and the install instructions at GitHub - frappe/helpdesk: Modern, Streamlined, Free and Open Source Customer Service Software are insufficient. Is there a resource available to get me up to speed? If not, what logs should I share here to help sort this out?

Thank you,
Wayne

5

Direct installation always work more smother than docker (Docker should be used, and it the trend, but I am sharing here my personal preference / experience).

On a fresh Linux, In addition to official instructions at:

https://frappeframework.com/docs/user/en/installation#debian--ubuntu

// Single hyphen between #debian and ubuntu should work, but not working :frowning:

I normally use:

  1. GitHub - flexcomng/erpnext_quick_install: Unattended install script for ERPNext Versions, 13, 14 and 15 (Reference: Fully Automated Install Script for ERPNext Version 14 )
  2. [Guide] How to Install and Setup ERPNext V15 on Linux Ubuntu (step-by-step instructions)

YMMV

6

Thanks, @hsrai . This is my usual preference, but I was trying to do what the cool kids do and leverage the new technologies. Maybe I should back up and start again with a clean Docker-less install. I will ponder that while I see if anyone else has suggestions on making Docker work.

1 Like
7

To be fair… Docker instances are awesome because of their ability to scale and the flexibility they provide. However, to successfully deploy and manage docker requires a bit more knowledge of management of containerized applications. So while it offers flexibility in management and outstanding opportunities for scalability, the knowledge requirements to effectively manage it versus a standard bare metal/VPS install makes it less ideal for non-tech users who wish to deploy ERPNext.

1 Like
8

Change your branch if its not working, jump into develop branch.

Before changing branch, please backup the instance

9

For anyone that finds this, it seems that the problem is with adding additional apps to a Docker environment. I have been told by my host, Elest.io that I need to do the following:

build your custom docker image to add the modules like these: frappe_docker/docs/custom-apps.md at main · frappe/frappe_docker · GitHub

If this doesn’t work, I will report back.

1 Like
10

These images contain hrms. Check the Gitlab repo and .gitlab-ci.yml to know how the images are built and published.

Images: https://gitlab.com/castlecraft/cepl-erpnext-images/container_registry/3822033

Note for new users: Although you’ll land up installing and using the containers, forum posts generally point to solutions for VM based setups that execute bench commands like “bench get-app” or “bench build” that cause problems in production containers.

11

That’s awesome! Documentation related to frappe_docker is where they landed! Potentially reading the Readme or FAQ! Feels great that someone with good technical skills will land on right links!